~|| Neil Bhatt /Lakshman Appreciation Thread 7||~ - Page 14

did i shared tht lakshmana was the one who sensed some evil plan behind tht golden deer he was the one who said it was mareech in disguise...😳

Smelling a rat

Was it a deer or was there a ploy behind it? Lakshmana has strong reasons and mentions that it is Mrca who has come in that form…

When Sita is enraptured by the beauty of the golden deer and Rama decides to go after it Lakshmana's power of reasoning is wide awake. 'Who would not be charmed by this wonder of wonders,' exclaims Rama as to pacify Lakshmana whose opinion is not in favour of going after it. 'So what?' is the blunt retaliation of Lakshmana.

'aariyan anaya kUra,' Hearing Rama saying so, 'annadhu thannai nOkki,' taking another look (at the golden deer) 'sIriyadhu andru idhu endru sindhayil theLindha thambi,' Lakshmana who was very clear and convinced that this was not a deer for real, 'kaariyam ennai?' So what are we to do about it? 'kaNdadhu kanaga maanEl,' Let it be that it is a golden dear. I agree with you. 'vEri am theriyal vIra, mILvadhE mEnmai endraan,' Let's move away from here. That is what we have to do now.

It is not a mere suspicion. Lakshmana has valid information with him to support his judgement. When he speaks, he speaks with authority of information, precedence and reason. 'Do not be deceived by its looks, my brother! I suspect that Mrca has arrived here in this form,' he declares. "I conclude this deer to be the same as that ogre, Mrca. Hunting game in the forest with delight, many kings, O Rama, have been killed by assuming a deceptive form at will. This effulgent form of a deer assumed by him, O tiger among men, is a hoax on the part of the ogre – who is well-versed in conjuring tricks – and it is like a magic show. To be sure, no such deer, freckled1 with jewel-like spots, exists on the face of the earth, O scion of Raghu! It is surely a phantom, O ruler of the globe; there is no doubt about it." (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto XLIII, Sloka 5-8)

It is not usual for Lakshmana to sound so impolite, especially when speaking to Rama. But his anxiety shows through. The fact that he is not able to convince Rama to see what he wants him to see makes him all the more anxious.

'Right. I agree with you. If as you say it is an ogre who has come assuming the form of this deer, then I will be killing it for sure and I will only be discharging my responsibility. If on the other hand, it turns out to be a real golden-deer, I will capture it for Sita. Either way there is no harm in pursuing it, Lakshmana. Why are you so worried?'

'pin nindraa inayar endru uNargilam.' We don't know who is behind all this. It is not correct to think that this deer has appeared here of its own. There is somebody who is behind this, though we do not have any information on them right now. 'pidiththa maayam en endrum theLidhal thEtraam.' And we do not know what form that the person who has sent it has assumed and where he is lying hidden right now. Anyway, I do not approve of your going behind it for another reason too. 'mun nindraar munindhuLa vEttam muttral,' Hunting has been despised by our ancestors 'pon nindra vayirath thOLaai pugazh udaiththaam andru' and if you go after the deer to hunt it, it won't befit your valour.

The wise think twice

The amazing thing is Lakshmana's mind remains so wide awake that he is able not only to see the falsity of the situation but also able to spot that it is Mrca…

'It is wise to think twice – even more – before venturing into such an escapade. 'aduththavum eNNich cheydhal aNNalE amaidhi andrO?' Is it not practical to think of consequences before venturing into such an attempt? If you feel that this deer has to be caught, you stay here with Sita. I will go and fetch it. 'viduththu idhan pin nindraalgaL palar uLar eninum,' Even if there is a crowd that has connived to send this animal here, 'villaal vem pagazhi thUvith thodarndhanen viraindhu sendru,' I will go behind it quickly shooting many an arrow and 'padukkuven' I will kill it. 'adhu andru aayin patrinen koNarven,' or else I will capture it alive and bring it here.

Lakshmana was not ready to agree to Rama going after the deer. As the most loyal brother – loyal servant would be more appropriate – he wanted to take the risk himself. The amazing thing is his mind remains so wide awake that he is able not only to see the falsity of the situation but also able to spot that it is Mrca who has come in disguise and also that there must be 'somebody else' behind this drama as Mrca would not have dared to come of his own, especially after he was spared by Rama's arrows in the beginning of their exile when Mrca tried to attack him in the form of a deer, along with two of his friends. And that faculty of judgement was totally absent in both Sita as well as Rama, as the Poets mention.

"Sita, who had been robbed of her faculty of judgement by the hoax (practised by the ogre) and who felt overjoyed at the prospect of laying her hands on the weird deer) spoke (as follows) with a bright smile (playing on her lips)," says Valmiki. (Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kanda, Canto XLIII, Sloka 9)

Of course, she had her fears. 'Lakshmana had already set his mind against this lovely deer,' she might have thought 'and would not do anything but kill it.' More over, it was something that she wanted to have from the hands of Rama, her loving husband, as a token of his love. She was therefore not prepared to let it caught by Lakshmana. 'vaayidai mazhalai in sol kiLiyin maazhghi,' blabbering like a parakeet she sulked. 'naayaga nIyE patri nalgalai pOlum!' 'So you are not going to get it for me?'

Sri VVS Aiyar, the great freedom fighter and a close friend of poet Subramanya Bharati reserved Sita as the last character for his 'Kamba Ramayanam – A study'. But alas, before he could write even the first word on Sita, he died in an accident and finally the book was published with the study on Sita written by the Delhi Tamil Sangam. The following lines on Sita in the said study are thought provoking. "Rama could have reacted like Lakshmana; and, if he had reacted that way, Sita might have changed her mind. Rama failed to grasp the truth about the deer and this failure on the part of Rama helped Sita's desire to grow unchecked."

But there is another angle to it. Sita, the loving wife, had accepted the life in jungle for thirteen long years and she had not asked Rama for anything. This was a demand, which only a loving husband can understand and could not resist or postpone it for a single moment longer. It was Rama's love for Sita that impelled him to pursue the deer, despite the explicit warning that issues forth from Lakshmana.

Verse Locator

"You are the Lord Narayana himself the glorious god, who wields the discus. You are the Divine Boar with a single tusk, the conqueror of your past and future enemies.

Seetha is no other than Goddess Lakshmi (the divine consort of Lord Vishnu), while you are Lord Vishnu. You are having a shining dark-blue hue. You are the Lord of created beings. For the destruction of Ravana, you entered a human body here, on this earth."

lord shiva said : O lotus-eyed, long-armed, broad-chested, annihilator of enemies and excellent among those upholding the cause of virtue! Thank heaven! You accomplished this task.

link :http://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/yuddha/sarga117/yuddha_117_frame.htm

Originally posted by: nneeiill

yes arti ..u had shared it earlier too..but its interesting to read it again

he is always alert..we saw this in his interaction with jatayu..

and i also got answer from ur post.. as why ram went to hunt for deer..like rama says..it would have yielded good results only...that makes sense actually😳..coz he was confident abt safety of sita ..so must have never thought about her getting abducted.

Originally posted by: JanakiRaghunath

@Arti,

Thank you for the lovely explanation! Yes, in Valmiki Ramayan, Lord Brahma tells Ram he is Vishnu only after Sita's Agni Pariksha, but did Valmiki actually say Ram did not know he was Vishnu? Of course, he indeed acted like a human and always expressed human emotions unlike Lord Krishna, but whether he knew in his heart or not is debatable. Like you said, Lord Brahma could have used maya on Shri Ram to behave in a certain way during the killing of demons, but Shri Ram could have also planned everything out in his mind and acted ignorant outside.

Ramcharitmanas and Adhyatma Ramayana clearly state Shri Ram knew about his divinity all along, but Valmiki Ramayan is a bit vague. Valmiki never mentioned what went on in Shri Ram's mind. He only mentioned the actions and emotions of Shri Ram which were very much human.

Originally posted by: arti07

thanks janki...

well lord brahma asked didnt he know he was a supreme being...lord rama answered tht all knew he is a human being son of dashratha he wants him to enlighten him...its quite mysterious valmiki was a great wrtier he knew how to play with words .noone really know wat lord rama actually meant..perhaps at the back of mind he knew he was GOD but he wanted the world to know it from a supreme diety... maybe tht was another Godly plan...

as we know valmiki describes to be NARA and tulsidas writes him as GOD... Valmiki has written Lord Rama's life-history, as a biographer does '" as he is a contemporary of Lord Rama...just like a king histroy is written...for me valmiki ramayana appears more as romanctic suspense (no offence.)... i mean ...The cause, the plots, the villains, the red herrings, the characterization, the mood, the crimes, the procedures, the clues, the resolutions and the romance is all there... in the end it is revealed the protognoist is no ordinary man but a GOD...thrilling isnt it...wat makes it interesting throughout the epi noone mentions him as lord vishnu avtaar in some sargas we are this close to know the real identity of lord rama but valmikiji quickly covers it up...and in the end wen the reader is stunned and baffled he is about to condemn the act of lord rama there comes the grand revelation...wat to say speechless..👏

...

ramcharitmanas was written much later tulsidas has read this magnaficient facts about LORD RAMA...he know he was GOD.Tulsidas wrrote it in a mood of pure devotion,...suspense was absent... the romance was minimized...it was only the spiritual narration of lord rama journey...😊.

coming to the original question i would say only lord rama can tell us whether he knew he was god or not...😳

Beautifully said, Arti.

I like how you said, only Lord Ram can tell us whether he knew he was God or not. I wish we could talk to God so that there is no confusion about what happened or did not happen. It would make serial director's life a lot easier too.😆